1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to toy vehicles and to the track used therewith.
2. Description of the Known Art
Toy vehicles have proven to be an extremely popular and long-lasting toy product. In response to this extended popularity, practitioners in the art have endeavored to increase the appeal of toy vehicles to consumers by designing and creating a variety of innovative toy vehicles and toy vehicle track sets.
Toy vehicles, such as toy cars and trucks, are widely available in various configurations including those operated by a small electric motor or purely mechanical vehicles with wheels that spin freely (“free-wheeling”). Some of these toy vehicles include a mechanized accessory or body part which gives the toy added novelty for the user.
Details of other toy vehicles include U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,727, issued to Swisher et al. on Apr. 7, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,056, issued to Tsai on Jun. 16, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,619, issued to Agostini et al. on Mar. 4, 2003. Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,727, issued to Swisher et al. on Apr. 7, 1987 entitled Toy Vehicle discloses a purely mechanical toy vehicle having a base or chassis with six freely spinning wheels and a top or body portion which is pivotally linked to the base of the toy vehicle by a pair of standoffs. The Swisher toy vehicle provides an external handle that is basically an extension of a lower part of the link which allows the user to rotate the entire top portion of the vehicle to a position higher than the base to give the toy vehicle a different overall appearance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,619, issued to Agostini et al. on Mar. 4, 2003 entitled Projectile Firing Toy Vehicle discloses another toy vehicle that is purely mechanical and that has a mechanized accessory. Agostini discloses a toy fire truck of the free-wheeling variety that has a projectile launching tube rotatably mounted to the roof. The projectile launching tube is accompanied by a launching handle and a sound effect control handle. The launching handle is used to compress and release a launching spring. The sound effect control handle is used to raise and lower the launching tube and provides various buttons for initiating sound effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,056, issued to Tsai on Jun. 16, 1998 entitled Transmission Structure of Toy Fire Engine includes a small motor and gear system for propulsion and for operation of vehicle accessories. Tsai discloses a fire truck having a ladder that raises and lowers automatically by a power train that also causes a miniature fireman figure to scale and descend the ladder. The same power train also provides propulsion for the fire truck by way of a set of small drive wheels and causes other fireman figurines to partially rotate out the sides of the doors.
Amphibious toy vehicles were offered at one time by the Eldon Company and the Kader Company which had the capability of operation on rough surfaces or in water. Details of other amphibious toy vehicles include U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,247, issued to Goldfarb et al. on Mar. 24, 1987. These vehicles were driven by battery-powered mechanism and had a drive for propulsion in water. These toys were an improvement in the art over other water-play toys as these toys were capable of operating outside of the water without compromising their flotation abilities or their propulsion abilities. In the case of the paddlewheel toys, it does not appear that the paddlewheels would both at the same time touch a surface on which the toys were placed, and, even if they would, neither the paddlewheels nor the toy bodies generally were suitably configured to provide good traction or effective operation over rough surfaces. In the case of the rotating-limb toys, the dynamic visual effect of such toys operating on a dry surface would be to lurch forward erratically, producing—at best—generally a comic or silly impression.
However, the previous amphibious vehicles utilized the wheels as the flotation devices, which left the device susceptible to damage if the wheels were punctured in any manner. As will be recognized by one skilled in the art, wheels for toy vehicles suffer greatly at the hands of their child users. Therefore, there is a need in the art to improve the flotation capabilities of amphibious vehicles.
Further, the flotation devices used before created vehicles which were too large and unwielding for many track sets. This created a disconnect between the amphibious vehicles and the toy track sets for the other toy vehicles. It is known that the toy vehicles themselves are more attractive to consumers if there is a corresponding track set for the vehicle. Therefore, there is also a need in the art to improve the amphibious vehicles to provide a vehicle capable of utilizing a vehicle track set, thereby creating a cohesive product line which is attractive to children.
Track sets allow toy vehicles to be propelled through various track configurations at relatively high speeds. The toy vehicles typically used in toy vehicle track sets are either powered or unpowered. Powered vehicles typically employ a propulsion system utilizing a wind-up spring-driven power source or a battery-powered electric motor. Still others utilize a small electric motor deriving operative power from conductors buried in the trackway. Unpowered toy vehicles used in toy vehicle track sets are typically freewheeling and rely upon various energy sources to drive the vehicle around the trackway. The power sources may, for example, be simple gravity-driven systems using one or more inclined ramps for acceleration or, alternatively, may employ one of several types of acceleration devices. Acceleration devices may include launchers having a launching station from which the toy vehicle is accelerated using spring or air power. One of most prevalent acceleration devices utilizes one or more spinning wheels positioned adjacent a closed loop toy vehicle trackway. In such acceleration devices, the wheel or wheels are rotated at a high rotational speed and as a toy vehicle passes the spinning wheel or wheels, the wheel or wheels engage the toy vehicle and impart energy thereto.
Many innovative track sets for toy vehicles which have been produced by practitioners in the toy art have enhanced their play value by employing apparatus which might be generally described as stunt devices. Stunt devices are characterized generally in that they operate in combination with a toy vehicle track set and typically provide some play element which is activated by the proximity or passage of a toy vehicle through a stunt device.
Other innovative track sets have utilized slot track constructions. Generally, the track construction comprises track segments having one or more guide slots for engaging a projecting pin on a toy vehicle which guide the toy vehicle around the track. The toy vehicles are typically powered through a pair of conductors embedded in the track.
Prior art slot track constructions have presented various configurations of the guide slots. For example, multiple guide slots which merge into a single slot or guide slots which intersect in criss-cross fashion are known in the prior art, providing enhanced play action of the track and toy vehicles. However, the known slot track constructions utilize continuous guide slots along the length of the track. Toy vehicles cannot move freely on the slot track and if one of the cars comes free of the guide slot, the toy vehicle will not continue to operate. The art does not teach a track that utilizes guide mechanisms at strategic points on the track to direct the toy vehicle while still allowing the toy vehicle to move freely on the remainder of the track.
Details of other toy vehicles and vehicle tracks are contained in include U.S. Pat. No. RE32,106, issued to Lemelson on Apr. 8, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,537, issued to Bratovz on Sep. 11, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,678, issued to Riley on May 19, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,466, issued to Fulton, et al. on Jul. 18, 2000; Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. RE32,106, issued to Lemelson on Apr. 8, 1986, entitled Toy Track and Vehicle Therefor discloses a toy guideway or track and vehicle for riding thereover. The track is made of a plastic material of such state and configuration wherein the track is not normally self supporting. Self support means are provided to support the track in a desired manner to define a trackway of particular configuration, and the track is provided with guide means for directing a toy vehicle thereover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,537, issued to Bratovz on Sep. 11, 1990, entitled Model Railroad Track Having a Track Bed discloses a track for model railroads comprising a track bed, which simulates, e.g., a superstructure which is provided with a ballast bed. The track bed consists of a bar-shaped bed section, which is made of elastically and/or plastically deformable and preferably elastoplastic material and has a cross-sectional profile which simulates that of a typical superstructure and preferably has the configuration of an isosceles trapezoid without the closing longer side thereof. The side of the profile represents the road surface for receiving the track grate, the legs constitute slopes. The top surface of the bed section is provided with recesses, which are substantially complementary to the track grate so that the latter can be inserted into said recesses to a depth corresponding to at least part of the height of the sleepers or ties. The bed section is provided with stiffeners on its underside.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,678, issued to Riley on May 19, 1998, entitled Model Railroad Track Assembly with Actuator Located within Hollow Track Bed discloses a model railroad track assembly having a substantially rigid, one-piece molded plastic body with an upper surface molded to generally replicate at least a portion of a railroad track bed is provided. The track assembly has depending side walls extending generally downwardly from the upper surface to define a lower side having a hollow cavity. The body has at least two ends, with each end including a male latching member and a matingly complementary female engagement structure. The upper surface includes a molded-in guiding structure to receive and locate a preassembled piece of model railroad track, including at least two metal rails molded in place on a ladder-shaped member simulating a plurality of spaced-apart ties. The ends of the molded body are adapted for mating engagement with the ends of similar track assemblies having a similar piece of preassembled model railroad track with the rails on the engaged track ends being aligned. An actuator is positioned within the hollow cavity beneath the upper surface such that the actuator is contained within the cavity. The actuator is adapted to change a direction of travel of rolling stock traveling on the at least two rails or uncouple rolling stock traveling on the at least two rails.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,466, issued to Fulton, et al. on Jul. 18, 2000, entitled Roadbed for Model Railroads describes a structure for creating a roadbed for a model railroad. The structure includes an elongated and flexible section which has a top surface, a bottom surface and a pair of inwardly angled side surfaces. The side surfaces are angled such that the bottom surface is wider that the top surface. The section is made from a foam material which deadens the sound of model trains passing thereover and which cushions vibrations of model trains passing thereover. The top surface is a closed cell surface that allows model train track to be adhesively secured thereto and the bottom surface is a closed cell surface that allows the roadbed to be adhesively secured to a supporting surface
While the foregoing described prior art devices have to some extent improved the art and have in some instances enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for evermore amusing, entertaining and interesting toy vehicle tracksets.